Android Market has more free apps, will soon be biggest app store

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In the mobile operating system world, few things seem to carry as much importance as the size and quality of your app store. Apple has held the crown ever since the iOS App Store launched in 2008, but according to an in-depth report from Distimo Google’s Android Market has been gaining ground rapidly. Distimo, in fact, says that the Android Market will boast a larger collection of mobile apps than the App Store sometime this summer.

The report also offers some enticing news for budget-conscious mobile users who may still be waffling about their next smartphone purchase. When it comes to free apps, Android is now in the lead. The Android Market currently stocks around 13,000 more free apps than the App Store despite being one third smaller. There are plenty of contributing factors, of course — like developers paying heed to previous analysis which revealed that Android users are less likely to want to pay for applications for their devices.

Ultimately, however, if the app ecosystem for a particular mobile operating system is going to heavily influence your decision to purchase a new device, the Android Market is growing rapidly and not showing any signs of slowing down. With Android now the “most desired” smartphone among new buyers in the U.S., and developer interest booming, it won’t be long before the Market is looking over its shoulder at the App Store. Now if Google would just get a sexy ad campaign together so people watching TV had some idea that someone else offered thousands of cool apps for mobile devices…